New Apple ads make Mac owners look inept, foolish

Debuted in front of a national audience during the 2012 London Olympics, Apple launched three new advertisements that are designed to highlight the superior intelligence of the twenty-something employees stationed at the Apple Genius bar within retail locations. However, two of the advertisements aren’t very flattering of Mac owners and make them too inept to figure out simple programs like iPhoto or iMovie.

For instance, the two men in the first two advertisements have been comically portrayed as having a difficult time remembering important events regarding their significant other. One ad shows a panicked man attempting to create a movie for his wife’s anniversary which he forgot until 27 minutes before his plane was supposed to land and the other ad shows an oblivious man more interested in learning how iPhoto works rather than taking his wife to the hospital in order to give birth to their child.

While certainly humorous, it can also be taken as embarrassing to dedicated fans of Apple products. The third advertisement shows a consumer that lacks the intelligence to research the difference between an Apple computer and any other brand of computer, but finally understands after the Apple genius shows him the error of his purchase.

However, the man isn’t portrayed as a complete bumbling buffoon, but rather someone that got suckered into purchasing a laptop that was supposed to be like a MacBook by an unscrupulous, slimy PC salesperson.

It’s possible that these Apple Genius ads could be the start of a new massive campaign centered around the Genius bar, thus creating another recognizable brand spokesperson for Apple. Prior to the celebrity-filled commercials featuring Apple’s Siri on the iPhone, one of the most popular Apple ad campaigns was the Mac versus PC ads featuring Justin Long and John Hodgman. That campaign was also recreated for the British market by using the comedy duo of David Mitchell as PC and Robert Webb at Mac.